No foolin': Redford library eliminate fines for returning materials late

Lin Beckhold checks out some potential mystery novels on April 1 at the Redford Township District Library. Beckhold said at that time that she'd already heard that the library was no longer going to collect fines on overdue books and other materials - and was fine with that as she checks out a lot of literature and films from the library. (Photo: John Heider | hometownlife.com)

No, it's not an elaborate trick the Redford Township District Library is pulling for April Fools' Day: it really has eliminated late fines.

The library announced April 1 it would no longer charge patrons for returning materials late to the library, located at 25320 Six Mile in Redford. The decision comes as the library has installed new LED lighting that saves the library more than $30,000 a year. That savings, library director Garrett Hungerford said, is enough to cover the fines the library typically collects annually and has been passed on to the patrons.

"The savings that we had in energy savings from the LED conversion made up the difference, so we were able to pass that savings on to the patrons," he said.

In addition, the library is waiving all current fees on the books, which totals about $67,000, Hungerford said. Not all fines are typically collected on an annual basis, Hungerford said, resulting in about $30,000 in collections of fines in a typical year.

Fines at the library used to cost $1 for late returns of DVDs and 25 cents for other materials such as books.

'We trust our residents'

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The Redford Township District Library is at 25320 Six Mile Road. (Photo: John Heider | hometownlife.com)

The decision by the library to eliminate late fines goes toward helping bring people back to the library and those who use it on a reciprocal agreement, such as patrons who live in nearby Detroit and use the Redford library.

"We want to welcome them back. It takes away from our mission," he said. "It just doesn't fit with our mission to punish people and restrict them from using the library."

Hungerford said he believes the Redford library is one of the first in the region to completely eliminate late fines for materials.

Patrons who don't return items aren't completely free to hold onto their materials for life, however. Those who neglect to drop off their materials after three weeks will be billed for the item in full and will be referred to a collection agency. A $15 fee will be imposed on patrons if the matter gets sent to a collection agency to cover the library's costs.

Hungerford said he's excited at the opportunity to bring people back to the library who may have been avoiding it because of accruing fees. He understands when people have issues that pop up in their life and how they can prevent someone from returning a book to the library.

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The screen of a self-checkout kiosk at the Redford Township District Library. (Photo: John Heider | hometownlife.com)

"We're not going to have to argue about small things. We're excited about how this will add to our customer service. There's so many stories we get," he said. "We trust our residents, we trust the public."

Contact David Veselenak at dveselenak@hometownlife.com or 734-678-6728. Follow him on Twitter @davidveselenak.